1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to method and apparatus for providing additional support or control to selected portions of a garment and the resultant garment produced thereby and, more particularly, to such method and apparatus which is adapted to apply an adhesive material to selected portions of a garment to provide a generally pleasing aesthetic pattern as well as support or control in such selected portions.
2. Description of the Related Art
The reinforcing or stiffening of selected portions of a garment, particularly an undergarment, is generally well known. Certain undergarments, including brassieres, corsets, girdles, and the like, require the reinforcement or stiffening of certain selected portions thereof in order to permit them to function properly. This is particularly true with respect to garments made from stretchable synthetic knitted fabrics utilizing polyester and nylon.
For example, some brassiere types need some form of reinforcement or stiffening elements to provide support for the wearer. Such means include metal underwires, plastic undershapers and stays. An example of a brassiere selectively reinforced in the breast cup area is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,021,844, which issued on Feb. 20, 1962 to Flagg et al., and which discloses the use of a stiffening liner in the breast cups of the brassiere. U.S. Pat. No. 3,750,673, which issued on Aug. 7, 1983 to Penrock, is similarly directed to a brassiere having a plurality of plastic stays positioned below the cup portion. Further, U.S. Pat. No. 4,558,705, which issued on Dec. 17, 1985 to O'Boyle et al. and which is owned by the assignee of the present application, relates to a brassiere which includes a unique plastic support.
With the advent of composite fabrics, there has been a trend toward incorporating stiffening panels or inserts as part of the composite fabric to provide selective reinforcement or stiffening. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,915,067, which issued on Dec. 1, 1959 to Bracht, is directed to a body supporting garment having a laminated structure, which includes a pair of flexible layers and a flexible stiffening member therebetween. U.S. Pat. No. 4,172,002, which issued on Oct. 23, 1979 to G. Gluckin, is directed to a brassiere having a support patch integrally molded into its breast cup. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,372,321, which issued on Feb. 8, 1983 to Robinson, provides a brassiere which has a unitary molded breast cup which includes an intermediate panel which is adhesively bonded to the cup in order to provide additional reinforcement or support for the cup. See also, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,375,445 and 4,419,997, which issued, respectively, on Mar. 1, 1983 and Dec. 13, 1983 to R. Cole et al. Both patents are owned by the assignee of the present application, and are directed to brassieres having a non-stretchable crown portion and a substantially non-stretchable longitudinal cup portion.
Analogously, U.S. Pat. No. 3,317,645, which issued on May 2, 1967 to Nirenberg, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,320,346, which issued on May 16, 1967 to Galitzki et al. provide methods for forming laminated or molded articles having these layers with the intermediate layer made of plastic. U.S. Pat. No. 3,383,263, which issued on May 14, 1968 to Storti, is directed to a method of preparing fabric laminate, by laminating two fabrics by means of regularly recurring spaced geometric units of substantially dry adhesive film sandwiched between the matting surfaces of the fabrics..
The selective reinforcement of portions of panties and baby pants, and methods and apparatus for such reinforcement, are also known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,228,401, which issued on Jan. 11, 1966 to Byrne, is directed to a foundation garment having reinforced panels. In order to effect such reinforcement, paste is applied to one or more panels of the fabric by a silk screen technique. Specifically, the paste is passed between the threads of the fabric in the selected or patterned areas so as to permit the plastic to become embedded in the threads.
Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 3,644,157, which issued on Feb. 22, 1972 to Draper, provides a method for selectively fusing a first finished panel to an intermediate panel of elastic material at selected locations. French Pat. No. 1,291,726, which issued on Mar. 19, 1962 to Girodet, is directed to undergarments, including girdles and corsets, in which strips of stiffening ribbons are fused to selected portions of the garments. Analogously, U.S. Pat. No. 3,502,522, which issued on Mar. 24, 1970 to Adamoli, provides a method and apparatus for manufacturing baby pants in which pieces of plastic material are welded to the body portions thereof.
Further, U.S. Pat. No. 3,682,738, which issued on Aug. 8, 1972 to Smith, provides method and apparatus for depositing powdered materials in patterned areas on textile and sheet materials. The material is then laminated to separate fabrics using heated, laminating rollers. Also, U.S. Pat. No. 3,489,154, which issued on Jan. 13, 1970 to Kasper, et al. and which is owned by the assignee of the present application, relates to a composite sheet material used to make foundation-type garments having a thin, inner panel bonded to outer fabric panels which include at least one thin, stretch fabric so as to limit the stretchability of the laminated fabric.
Other types of garments which include reinforced or stiffened portions are the collar portions of shirts and jackets, as disclosed, for example in U.S. Pat. No. 2,975,248, which issued on Mar. 21, 1961 to Pfeffer, Jr. et al., and safety helmets as disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 2,956,916, which issued on Oct. 18, 1960 to Voss et al.
Still further, apparatus and methods for applying thermoplastic bonding materials to garments using screen printing techniques are also well known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,002,849, which issued on Oct. 3, 1961 to Harmon et al., provides method and apparatus for forming a non-woven fabric. A thermoplastic bonding material is screen printed onto a substrate and then heated to fuse the material to the substrate. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 3,676,269, which issued on July 11, 1972 to Schaetti and which may be somewhat analogous to the U.S. Pat. No. 3,682,738 to Smith, provides a method of laminating a powdered thermoplastic material to a substrate which may, thereafter, be laminated to another fabric. See also, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,919,039, which issued on Nov. 11, 1975 to Rohner; 4,096,016, which issued on June 20, 1978 to Pohl; 4,097,629, which issued on June 27, 1978 to Schneider; and 4,139,613, which issued on Feb. 13, 1979 to Hefele, all of which provide various forms of a laminating apparatus.